Huayu: From charlatan to great entertainer

Chapter 568 Holds Great Terror

The Nanfang Metropolitan Daily was very busy during the Spring Festival of the Year of the Tiger, 2010.

On the one hand, the editorial department had just undergone a hasty personnel reshuffle after being severely reprimanded for the "savior or collaborator" incident before the Lunar New Year, and the new editor-in-chief was just trying to stabilize the situation with trepidation.
On the other hand, in order to salvage its reputation and regain control of the narrative, the newspaper decided to revive the glorious tradition of creating the "Four Little Actresses" at the beginning of the millennium and launched the "Entertainment Couples Ranking" in an unconventional way.

This move aims to shift public attention away from sensitive and controversial public opinion storms and towards more entertaining celebrity wealth and emotional gossip. It attempts to leverage "sweetness" and "wealth" as gimmicks to generate new traffic and attention in the Spring Festival public opinion arena, staging a dramatic survival show.

Of course, this is also an innovative approach taken by Shen Hao, the newly appointed editor-in-chief of Nanfang.

Shen Hao is a capable assistant transferred from Nanfang Weekend by Yang Feng, chairman of Nanfang Newspaper Group. Born in 1971, he entered the Department of Literature at Yenching University in 1988 and is not yet 40 this year.

Ignoring the fact that Lu Kuan, the richest man, is still two years shy of his 30th birthday, he is still considered an exceptional individual.

This person is known to the world for two reasons: firstly, because of his identity as a poet and the famous lines he wrote that circulated widely in the early days of the internet.

1999, Weekend's front page New Year's address:
There is always a force that moves us to tears, a force that invigorates us, and a force that drives us to constantly seek justice, love, and conscience.

This New Year's address, hailed as the best in the history of Weekend, inspired many people's pure journalistic ideals, and is also known as the famous article "There is always a force that moves us to tears".

Unfortunately, this seemingly conscientious journalist from Yenching University later took a risk under the heavy market-driven performance pressure from Nanfang. He was convicted of instigating and organizing his newspapers and public relations companies to commit news extortion, and ultimately faced a fair trial. (See image below)
The profit model of Nanfang, as described earlier, can be glimpsed here. (Chapter 567)
In 2010, the fate of this editor-in-chief, Shen, seemed to change due to the divine intervention of a time traveler.

Regardless of whether this top student from Yenching University's Department of Literature and seasoned media professional will step into the same river twice in his life, he now faces a crucial choice—

How to successfully organize this edition of the "Celebrity Couples Ranking" which has already sparked widespread discussion, and how to handle the selection process for the couple Lu Kuan and Liu Yifei, who have already caused a major upheaval in the magazine "Nanfang"?

Because this selection process severely damaged the reputation of journalism, the newly "reborn" Metropolitan Daily is of great importance.

Have you not seen how long the "Four Little Actresses" of yesteryear were celebrated and how widespread their influence was?

Around the turn of the millennium, China's film and television industry entered a period of rapid development, and a group of young actresses rose to prominence. The media needed a way to sort out and define the emerging star power and provide the public with a clear cognitive framework.

The Metropolitan Daily seized this opportunity and, by introducing a classic concept similar to the "Four Great Dan Actresses," conducted a systematic review and analysis, thereby enhancing the professionalism and influence of its entertainment section, thus giving birth to the "Four Little Dan Actresses."

This also brings them strong topicality and dissemination effect, effectively attracting readers' attention, increasing newspaper sales and influence, and promoting the construction of discourse power in the entertainment industry.

In 2010, as the status of traditional print media was being eroded by internet products such as Weibo and video, and as the *Metropolitan Daily* was suffering a severe blow, Editor-in-Chief Shen suddenly received a public relations cooperation invitation from LeTV Culture:
LeTV Culture demands that the "Xu Duo Jin Yang Mi" duo, which has been the subject of much hype in recent days, be placed at the top of the charts!
How can this be?

Shen Hao, who had just established himself at the Metropolitan Daily, refused without hesitation.

Even if this isn't a particularly hostile move—

This richest man doesn't even want to be on Hurun's list, let alone such an entertainment-oriented unofficial ranking.

Even Shen Hao, who needed to extract money from the richest man's list due to his political stance, had to admit that this man's vision and perspective were so broad that he wouldn't care about such a list at all.

Otherwise, if he wanted, he could silence all the users on websites like Weibo, Sohu, and Sina who called him by his "nickname" "washing machine," and he could even easily send some haters to stomp on sewing machines.

But aside from serious cultural and ideological issues, Boss Lu rarely speaks out or engages in extreme public relations for his own persona or reputation. Otherwise, he might have picked out a little girl named "Yalu Ji" from among the vast number of netizens.

To avoid the fact that the leader of this washing machine hater group might only be exposed many years later. (Chapter 408)
But Shen Hao really doesn't have the guts right now.

Mr. Lu might laugh it off to other media outlets and ordinary netizens, but what if he launches a heavy attack on Nan Fang?

The “misery” of former editor-in-chief Xiao Rui and more than 20 middle-level cadres who were dismissed or expelled from the Party and public office is still fresh in people’s minds. Now they are asking themselves to take a risk.
He decisively chose to refuse, and then continued to strengthen communication with Tencent, launching a nationwide campaign during the lively Lunar New Year to select the next "Four Little Actresses" and regain some control of the cultural and entertainment industry.

On the morning of the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, Shen Hao, who was preparing to go to the company to work overtime, received a call from Vice President Xu of LeEco Culture.

"Happy New Year, Editor-in-Chief Shen. I am Xu Duojin."

"Hello Mr. Xu, Happy New Year! What can I do for you?"

In the VIP reception room of Dongshan Villa, Xu Jin, who was watching the staff working overtime to sign the contract with Yang Mi, said:

"Mr. Shen, I particularly admire your article 'There is always a force that moves us to tears,' and I have always respected journalists like you."

"Mr. Xu..."

"Let me finish!" Xu Duojin, who went from being a behind-the-scenes investor to stepping into the spotlight of LeEco Culture, said forcefully: "Let's not beat around the bush. I know what you're worried about. I don't like to put my friends in a difficult position."

"I'm now offering you, as a friend who's just started working at the Nanfang Metropolitan Daily, some assistance within my capacity. If you're interested, I look forward to your reply; if not..."

"This is the first and last time I'll call you."

"Please speak!" Shen Hao was straightforward with the second-generation coal tycoon, but he was determined to "stay true to himself," even though this round seemed completely insignificant.

So Jin casually made some promises that he claimed were within his power, but which Shen Hao found incredibly tempting:
"We raised the public relations fee to 280 million, and will raise it further depending on factors such as Yang Mi's Weibo followers and the growth rate of paid items in 'Penguin Ranch'."

"In addition, our group of business owners in Xishan who have switched to real estate, technology, and the internet can pre-sign an advertising agreement with you for next year to help you gain a foothold in the Metropolitan Daily, with a total amount of no less than 4000 million yuan."

"Editor-in-Chief Shen, we're all on the same side, so there's no need to mince words. Your performance will determine whether you stay or leave this position. If you just get through this year uneventfully, will Chairman Yang still want to keep you?"

I don't think so.

The client speaks with authority, and moreover, knowing full well that the other party is a money-grubbing lapdog, Xu Duojin truly brought out the advantages inherent in his name.

Although he was not a time traveler and did not know that this Editor-in-Chief Shen had been imprisoned in his previous life because of his "professional ethics," he was clearly aware of this from his previous experience dealing with the Nanfang Group.

This is feasible.

The cautious Shen Hao hung up the phone without comment, sitting in his car with a gloomy expression.

You're a damn good judge of character; you've really hit the nail on the head.

His later judgment detailed the outrageous actions of this talented student from Yenching University:

By setting high performance targets, subordinate media outlets are required to coerce companies into "cooperating" and collecting "advertising fees" through negative reporting and "paid silence."

Among them, it is explicitly required that the number of companies cooperating with IPO companies should reach more than 70% of the total number of IPO companies in that year.

Your assessment is even harder than the China Securities Regulatory Commission's! Even the China Securities Regulatory Commission doesn't always have a 70% approval rate every year!

The most famous example is the case of Hikvision, a domestic technology company. During the critical period of its listing, Editor-in-Chief Shen instructed his subordinates to publish unsubstantiated reports such as "the video of the Pengcheng 526 accident was faked" and "a 77 billion yuan order has been abandoned for two years, and the Ping An Mountain City project may be re-tendered," and received nearly one million yuan in public relations fees.

This is just the tip of the iceberg of lengthy judgments. The gradual loss of credibility of journalists stems from these top students taking control of the media and using their powerful ability to disrupt the rules.

"Stop the car! Turn around!" After hanging up the phone and pondering for a long time in the back seat, Shen Hao suddenly patted the driver's seat and made a decision.

Instead of immediately yielding to the client, we went to communicate and negotiate with another key figure in the event planning.

On the surface, this is, after all, an entertainment marketing campaign co-organized by the Metropolitan Daily and Tencent's portal.

In private, there's always someone taller to hold the sky up when it falls. Although it's hard to say who's taller between Penguin and Nanfang, Penguin has, after all, been in business competition with Wenjie, and that competition continues.

A phone call and an hour's drive later, Shen Hao, carrying New Year's gifts, traveled from Guangzhou to Shenzhen to visit his "old comrade-in-arms" Chen Juhong.

It was ostensibly a New Year's greeting, but in reality, it was a request for advice.

The former colleague he visited, Chen Juhong, is currently the Vice President of Tencent Technology and the Editor-in-Chief of Tencent Network Media, and is directly responsible for the operation of Tencent's portal.

She graduated from the School of Journalism and Communication at Wuhan University in 1995 and then joined Nanfang, where she worked with Shen Hao, a fellow graduate from Peking University, and eventually rose to the position of editor-in-chief of Nanfang Window.

More than two years ago, Chen Juhong, who had completed her visiting scholar mission at Harvard, was poached by Ma Huateng, mainly to lead the strategic transformation of Tencent's online media business from a traditional portal to a personalized, mobile, and social one.

The two exchanged the usual greetings typical of Chinese holidays when they met.

"You're here! And you even brought things!"

"If I don't bring anything, I'm afraid you'll kick me out!" Shen Hao and his driver carried large and small bags into the villa courtyard. After greeting Chen Juhong's family with smiles, they couldn't wait to chat about this matter in the study.

Details and situation regarding the newly acquired Metropolitan Daily;
The newspaper group is now filled with fear and resentment towards that notorious tycoon.

Regarding the "Entertainment Couples Ranking" event, which was poised to help him secure his position as the highly coveted editor-in-chief,

Of course, there was also the phone call I received in my car more than an hour earlier from a second-generation coal miner.

Chen Juhong, who was unconcerned, remained calm: "Old Shen, you've matured a lot. In the past, wouldn't you have just pounced on this kind of opportunity? Why bother asking me, an outsider?"

"Haven't you been dealing with that guy a lot these past two years?"

Chen Juhong laughed and spat, "Coming to expose my shortcomings during the New Year, is that it!"

For nearly a decade, Penguin and Wenjie had coexisted peacefully, except for last year's highly publicized Penguin copy-paste farm game, Wenjie's poaching of Zhang Xiaolong, and its subsequent blow to Penguin by cracking down on the Korean wave.

Grudges are just a joke in the martial arts world. The two sides have fought each other, which is just normal business competition. But this time, the penguin that activated the Sharingan did not gain much advantage, which is also news in the industry.

After all, this move has always been successful.

Shen Hao sighed, "In short, the situation is what it is now, and I've already reported it to Chairman Yang..."

"How to say?"

Regardless of what he was thinking, Shen Hao still smiled and said, "Performance must be guaranteed, and those responsible will be held accountable if anything goes wrong."

This bloody lesson left Nan Fang, who couldn't possibly find out the inside story, unsure whether the Grand Steward's words were accidental or routine, and Yang Feng couldn't possibly give his subordinates overly open instructions.

Otherwise, how can we shift the blame and then flexibly use the tactics of immediate execution of temporary workers and double dismissal?

"Still the same after all these years." Chen Juhong sneered, then looked at him seriously: "Tencent is only a co-organizer this time, acting as your internet channel. I can only say that if your Nanfang marketing methods are too aggressive, Mr. Ma will consider withdrawing."

She raised her hand to interrupt Shen Hao, who was about to speak: "You make a living from this, but the portal is only one part of Tencent's business. Even I, as the editor-in-chief of the online platform, can directly decide to end the cooperation."

"Mr. Ma has repeatedly emphasized that no one is allowed to back down in normal business competition, but when it comes to personal evaluations, no one is allowed to make irresponsible remarks on behalf of the company."

Chen Juhong looked at Shen Hao, who was unwilling, and laughed: "To be honest, I think this entertainment award you guys organized is not worth a second glance for that Boss Lu. He wouldn't even bother to pay attention to it."

"But you should be careful with Yang Siwei from Wenjie Starlink. This woman is very assertive and often communicates with Tencent Portal about public relations issues for Wenjie artists and directors. We have all experienced this firsthand."

"Her? What's so noteworthy about her?" Shen Hao was new here and didn't yet understand many of the details.

Chen Juhong explained, "Her Starlink is specifically responsible for connecting artists and the business model of monetizing traffic. She was originally Liu Yifei's agent and had a close relationship with her."

"No matter how you judge it, if you rank the Lu-Liu duo below the Xu-Yang duo, and the main figures don't care, it doesn't mean Yang Siwei won't cause trouble. She has a lot of power to manipulate public opinion."

"This..." Shen Hao was stunned. He didn't expect there to be such a hidden meaning. Fortunately, he asked a few more questions.

The top student from Yanda University, recalling the generous terms offered by Xu Jin, couldn't help but sigh to the heavens: "When did Nanfang's editor-in-chief become so frustrated? Damn it! Ugh!"

Ten years before and ten years after their previous life, they were beings capable of piercing the heavens and drilling through the earth.

Imagine if it weren't for a transmigrator who possessed top-tier legitimate business resources and was intimately familiar with Nanfang's background, few could withstand their matrix-style propaganda offensive.

That's truly the kind of person who can call a deer a horse.

But for Shen Hao, who has just taken office, he is now both eager and afraid.

They wanted to swallow the sugarcane of the coal second-generation, thinking that Boss Lu wouldn't care about these trivial details, just like he hadn't cared about the nickname of his washing machine all these years.

He was also afraid that other unrelated individuals, like Yang Siwei, whom he didn't know, might emerge from nowhere, causing complications and unnecessary changes.

If he knew it was a precipice, he would have been as decisive as when he first rejected LeEco Culture. But now, even though everything seemed calm and Chen Juhong judged that there should be no major problems, he, the new helmsman of the Metropolitan Daily, just couldn't bring himself to make the decision to go overseas.

After a long silence, Shen Hao, tempted by the prospect of wealth and future prospects, shamelessly pleaded with his old colleague, "Old Chen, I have a plan that I'd like you to consider. If it's convenient, could you perhaps have a word with that Yang Siwei? You two have dealt with each other before."

Shen Hao was Yang Feng's right-hand man. Following the principle of having more friends means having more options, Chen Juhong was happy to lend a hand, since it was common for journalists like them to switch jobs.

"You said."

“We can’t afford to offend him right now, but we can at least avoid him, right?” Shen Hao pondered. “My idea is to issue a statement directly, proactively and publicly elevating him to an unparalleled position, and ‘politely send this richest man out of the country.’”

He went on to explain: "Even Rupert Hoogewerf doesn't want to be named the richest man. The Metropolitan Daily told him and his wife not to participate in the selection because his current wealth, status and influence have transcended the scope of the entertainment industry."

"By elevating him to a pedestal, we are essentially clearing him from the competition, thus naturally removing the obstacles on the other side of the competition."

"Our statement has been quite accommodating to Lu Kuan. If he still reacts, it would seem petty and unreasonable. In reality, he'll most likely just pretend he didn't hear it. What do you think?"

Chen Juhong nodded repeatedly as she listened: "You've changed too, you've learned to be more flexible now."

"We have no choice but to turn back. The enemy leader is powerful right now, like an eternal iceberg. Even the Titanic would feel the pain if it crashed into him. We need to avoid his sharp edge for now."

Shen Hao smiled and said, "There's only one thing left. Please inform Yang Siwei. It's a way for Nanfang to show weakness. I think that's enough face for them, right?"

Chen Juhong quickly calculated the pros and cons in her mind, hesitated for two seconds, and said, "Okay, I'll speak for you."

This vice president of Tencent is well aware of the principle of "better safe than sorry." He not only informed Yang Siwei of Starlink, with whom he has dealt many times, but also made a phone call to the boss who was negotiating with Ali in Lin'an.

As mentioned earlier, under Chairman Liu's desperate measures to survive, the "forced action" of the "Double Eleven Shopping Festival," and the multi-dimensional pressure from the time travelers, the cooperation agreement between Ali and Penguin has entered a critical phase, and a new round of negotiations was launched as early as the fifth day of the Lunar New Year.

The reply received by the vice president of Tencent and editor-in-chief of the online news department was "okay".

Clearly, Pony Ma also thought there was nothing wrong with this approach of leaving it untouched, and since it had little to do with the penguins, he accepted it without question.

Therefore, they continued to leverage their significant negotiating advantage to pressure Ali, who was completely passive in his main business.
-
Wenyuhe Prefecture.

Besides Ah Fei returning to the unit to continue the high-intensity training of the Internal Security Forces, including firearms and anti-explosives, the workaholic tycoon who has worked hard for a year is also somewhat reluctant to leave. Every day, apart from going to the Wenjie Building to check on the post-production progress of "Ball Lightning", he spends his days happily with his wife and children.

On the morning of the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, Liu Yifei looked at her husband, who was crawling and practicing with Youyou and Tiedan on the living room carpet and said, "Your phone is Yang Siwei's."

"You take it."

Xiao Liu nestled comfortably on the sofa: "Thoughts, that's me."

"Oh, hello, esteemed Mrs. Richest Man!" the slightly plump agent teased with a smile, "This humble servant has important business to report!"

Liu Yifei snorted: "You didn't even bring a gift for the Spring Festival, so you won't get your year-end bonus this year!"

"No! I was wrong!" Yang Siwei said dejectedly, "My mom made me go back to my hometown for a blind date this year, otherwise would the richest man's entourage be without me as his lackey!" "Oh? Tell me more!" Xiao Liu, who was bored, turned on speakerphone and started eating sunflower seeds, having lost some desire to manage her weight during the holiday. If she weren't breastfeeding, she would have loved to open a bottle of red wine and have a couple of glasses.

As for how much he can drink, that depends on what the slightly chubby agent's "appetizers" are like.

Yang Siwei didn't actually think that the selection by the Nanfang Metropolitan Daily would interest the big boss; she was just letting them do whatever they wanted. But since Chen Juhong had informed her, she should report it.

Because she thought it was unimportant, she now had the leisure to gossip with Xiao Liu about her blind date experience.

“There were three in total. The first one was a deputy director from a certain department in Beiping. He started by lecturing me on how he studied the ‘Three Stresses’ in his unit. Finally, he subtly suggested that I should lose some weight. I told him that I knew your leader well and that I could have him work up a sweat for you.”

"Which leader?" Liu Yifei asked, amused.

Yang Siwei laughed and said, "That's the same director from when the company was working with the newly established Xinchan Lianyi. He was so persuaded by Lao Dong that he wanted to resign and be rehired by Wenjie immediately."

"The second one was a PhD in Literature from Yenching University. He came up and wrote me a poem right away—'Your double chin is like Monet's water lily pond.'"

"I said, 'You don't mind that I'm fat?' He said, 'Don't mind that I'm poor either. I'm just here to be with a rich woman.'"

Given Yang Siwei's rising status in the industry and her salary and bonuses, she should be considered a powerful and wealthy woman.

"Haha, this is interesting!"

Yang Siwei finally found someone to vent to, and her little mouth rattled off like a machine gun: "The last one was a self-proclaimed 'Wolf of Wall Street' investment banking VP. After chatting for a while, I realized he was just trying to find out if Wenjie had any business..."

"Looking at him, I felt like I'd gladly whip him with a water-soaked whip if I could just give him business!"

Liu Yifei sighed, "I really sympathize with you. It's hard to be a woman, and it's even harder to be a wealthy and powerful woman!"

“That’s why I said that!” Yang Siwei laughed. “When I got home, I told my mom that wealth and power have transformed me, a fat woman weighing over 140 pounds, into a graceful lady like Xixi.”

After chatting and laughing for a while, the general manager of Starlink remembered the important matter: "Hey, did you see that recent poll about celebrity couples? Yang Mi's hype is so strong I can smell her foxy stench from miles away."

Liu Yifei spat out a mouthful of sunflower seed shells: "I saw it. I cast a lot of votes for Sister Xun and that so-called 'Four Young Masters of Beijing'."

This refers to Wang Shuo, who is also Qing Gege's stepson.

If the two of them get together, it would be practically the same as Zhou Xun becoming Wang Yan's daughter-in-law.

Zhou Xun has a rich romantic history and a fiery personality. Although Liu Yifei has a good relationship with her, she never interferes. That is someone else's lifestyle and life choice, and has nothing to do with her.

Just like the slightly chubby agent on the other end of the phone, who has a history of romantic escapades with male models, what does that have to do with her?

This is especially true for Boss Lu; as long as he does his job well, that's enough.

"Well, just now, Chen Juhong, the vice president of Tencent, chatted with me for a bit and then talked about..."

Liu Yifei was stunned for a moment before realizing that Nan Fang was using a roundabout approach to achieve her goal. Just then, Boss Lu's parent-child activity ended, so she came over to take the call.

"I just heard that. Is LeEco Culture just creating hype?"

Yang Siwei was already used to his boss's insightful observations, especially regarding marketing hype and public opinion management, which were practically another branch of his expertise.

“Yes, most likely.” Yang Siwei reported in detail: “We’ve been dealing with Chen Juhong a lot these past two years. She’s a formidable female CEO and the former editor-in-chief of Nanfeng Window.”

"She also hinted on the phone that it was Dai Nanfang's former colleague who mediated the communication. She must have been frightened by the sudden remarks of that person last time. Now she wants to collect public relations fees from Yang Mi, but she is also afraid of causing us displeasure."

“Nanfang wants to recreate its ‘Four Little Actresses’ selection myth, let them do what they want.” Boss Lu laughed, just about to chat with Yang Siwei about Jing Tian’s marketing arrangements, when he suddenly paused, as if he had found some key points.

As Liu Yifei enthusiastically opened her account to continue voting for Zhou Xun, a trending news item suddenly caught her eye on her computer screen.

"Ma Huateng appeared in Lin'an during the first month of the lunar calendar to discuss e-commerce project cooperation with leaders of Zhejiang Province."

"Wait!" Lu Kuan called out to Yang Siwei, who was responding and preparing to leave. "What did you just say to Chen Juhong?"

The slightly chubby agent was a little confused, but still told the truth: "I said I needed to ask my superiors, but I also said frankly that Starlink has no marketing plans. This Chen Juhong was quite easy to talk to before, and even helped Yaya retract the news that she was suspected of dating Chen Sicheng a few years ago, so I didn't think of bluffing her."

"Oh." Boss Lu pondered for a few seconds, leaving Liu Yifei, who was surfing the internet next to him, completely bewildered.

Just a few days ago, he was making a strange call for everyone to vote for Zhou Xun and to make the absurd thing of Zhou Xun becoming Wang Yan's daughter-in-law a reality. Now, what is he concerned about with his furrowed brows?
While analyzing the situation with Yang Siwei, Lu Kuan was also clarifying his thoughts in his mind.

"Nanfang's profit model and professional ethics determine that they will always be a biting dog. They are not barking now because they are afraid of having their teeth knocked out."

"This kind of flattery isn't a particularly clever tactic, but the real purpose was probably to make way for him to collect money from the others, so that he could 'politely escort' me and Xiao Liu out of the country."

He suddenly remembered something and chuckled with a mischievous grin, "Yang Siwei, I'm giving you a task. Let's see how good you are at making things up."

"Oh? Then I mustn't disappoint you, boss! I'm quite good at stirring things up."

Boss Lu's train of thought jumped: "The news about Ma Huateng creating hype for himself to invest in Ali has been more than just one or two stories. His meeting with the leaders of Lin'an in the past few months has almost become a recurring topic online."

“Now Alipay’s B2C transformation path is blocked by Wenjie Mall. Alipay has been almost driven out of the country except for its stubborn resistance in Guangdong Province.”

He smiled and revealed the task he had assigned to Yang Siwei: "I'm going to hand Ma Yun a knife and announce some news that will deal a fatal blow to Tencent. You have to help me have a 'just cause'."

Yang Siwei can only be described as a chosen marketing genius in the entertainment industry. It took her a long time to understand what her boss meant: to increase Ma Yun's bargaining power and prolong the progress and time of negotiations between the two parties.

If the alliance between Nanfang Pizza Hut and "Lin'an Losers" is inevitable, postponing it will always be beneficial to both sides. A complex of internally evenly matched competitors is far better than one where Little Ma has a huge advantage.

How can we increase Ma Yun's bargaining power while also providing a legitimate reason for Wenjie's business activities?
I'm not targeting you, Little Ma, just like last time you said you were going to do a ranch, which was plagiarism.

I'm just very dissatisfied! Dissatisfied with what?
"Yang Siwei, Xiao Liu from the marketing department is very dissatisfied with this selection jointly organized by Nanfang and Tencent Portal, and even more dissatisfied with being 'withdrawn' from the selection."

Liu Yifei looked bewildered: "What am I dissatisfied with?"

"Nonsense, who doesn't know you're love-struck?" Boss Lu said matter-of-factly. "I originally wanted to use this talent show to show off my love and get a perfect score in sweetness, but I was eliminated from the competition?"

"If Heaven hadn't given birth to me, Liu Yifei, pure love would have remained in eternal darkness! It's normal for girls to feel a little unbalanced and emotional about this kind of thing!"

“But boss…” Yang Siwei was a little stunned, “This event was organized by the Nanfang Metropolitan Daily, and Tencent is just their online partner, so logically…”

The crime should not be punished by death.

Upon hearing this involuntary, pang of conscience, the unscrupulous capitalist could only sternly criticize, "I ask you, who called you?"

"Chen Juhong of Penguin".

"Your thinking, don't limit yourself, let your thinking expand like your physique!" Boss Lu declared confidently. "I'm asking you, if it has nothing to do with penguins, why is she asking you?"

"You didn't hit the person, so why did you help them up?"

"Are drug traffickers guilty, but drug couriers innocent?"

When Zhao Gou issued the gold medal, did he really not know what Yue Fei was doing?

Yang Siwei was stunned: "I...she..."

Liu Yifei once again lamented her husband's cunning and opportunistic behavior, and felt a pang of worry for Tencent's CEO, Mr. Ma.

How can a seemingly gentle and refined businesswoman, who at most uses a Tencent QQ account to attract customers, possibly compete with a shameless husband?!

You could have just stolen it, but you insisted on making up an excuse...

Yang Siwei acted quickly. Being a popular online personality and agent who enjoyed stirring up trouble on Weibo, she quickly spotted a humorous Weibo post on the morning of the sixth day of the Lunar New Year. The largest fan group of Liu Yifei in the country, which she usually managed and guided, along with their entertainment industry clients, saw the post.

Early on the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, Liu Yifei, the "nightmare" artist from the first half of my career, called me, sounding very puzzled.

Why was I "withdrawn" from the online celebrity couple poll?

You know, she has been bothering us to vote for her ever since the first day of the Lunar New Year. Why is this female celebrity, who has never been interested in her career, so interested in this kind of ranking this time?

There's no other reason than wanting to give myself a perfect score in sweetness.

This is the same reason why 80% of the posts on her Weibo are filled with displays of affection that make people jealous:
This Berlin Film Festival Best Actress winner has a fascination with pure love narratives like a female college student, although she is currently just an ordinary college graduate.

So I opened the Tencent portal to see the selection event they co-organized with Nanfang, and found an announcement on the homepage that looked like an official document:

Given the sheer scale of Mr. Lu Kuan's wealth and the vastness of his industrial ecosystem, any quantification of his "wealth value" based on entertainment rankings appears one-sided and misguided. Placing Mr. Lu Kuan within conventional rankings not only fails to accurately measure his worth but also obscures our understanding of true industry leaders.

Out of sincere respect for their outstanding achievements, and to ensure the list's value for discussion within its established scope, it has been decided that Mr. Lu Kuan and Ms. Liu Yifei will not participate as candidates in this "Celebrity Couples Ranking".

……

This announcement reminds me of the TV series "Emperor Qianlong's Journey to the South" that I watched when I was a child. The local officials kept the people away for miles, shouting "How can we look directly at the majesty of the Emperor?", but then they turned around and collected the sponsorship fee from the salt merchants for the "umbrella of ten thousand people".

What's the difference between this and now using Mr. Lu and his wife and Tianxianfen for hype, and then turning around and asking them to "force them to withdraw" for unknown purposes?
People may not care, but some people shouldn't be so greedy. I graduated from Communication University of China, and my seniors in the journalism department didn't act like that.

In short, this former entertainer, who is usually incredibly good-tempered, wasn't in a very good mood when she hung up the phone.

Just a funny little story, a bit of whining, to share with you all, and wishing you a Happy New Year!

……

Yang Siwei's Weibo post was like pouring a ladle of cold water into a pot of boiling oil, causing it to explode instantly.

The fans of Yang Siwei were completely enraged by the phrase "not feeling very good" in the blog post. For them, not only was the public relations manipulation implied by Yang Siwei unpleasant, but they also lost an opportunity to interact.

While the celebrities themselves don't care, the various fan clubs and Liu Yifei-themed websites are undoubtedly trying to put them at the top of the list.
It's a sense of accomplishment and participation, especially now that Yang Mi is hyping up her company and buying an 8000 million yuan mansion in cash. How satisfying it would be to step on those clamoring Yang Mi fans!
Unfortunately, this exciting story has now been brought to an end by Tencent and Nanfang during the New Year.

Nothing more to say, let's go!

The fan club acted swiftly, gathering on Baidu Tieba, forums, and Chuxing's Weibo account, and splitting into multiple groups:
Some people kept posting the topic, pointing out that Yang Mi's soaring popularity after the Lunar New Year was suspected of being hyped by online trolls, especially since the online channel for this selection, Tencent, had already partnered with her as an endorser for the game "Ranch".

Some fans and netizens transformed into online detectives, flooding the comment sections of the official accounts of Nanfang Metropolitan Daily and Tencent Portal with an overwhelming barrage of questions and sarcastic emojis;
Some even went so far as to call the Crazy Newspaper's reader hotline, complaining agitatedly about the shady selection process, almost to the point of petitioning higher authorities.

It's true that Liu Yifei is equally laid-back in both her past and present lives, but the fans of this generation have emerged from countless ups and downs and were brought up by unscrupulous players like Yang Siwei in the Chinese entertainment industry. Their fighting power is too strong.

This irrational surge of public opinion from fans created a considerable amount of pressure in the relatively rudimentary online environment of early 2010.

But for Tencent and Nanfang, it's easy to manipulate the ignorant, but difficult to deceive capitalists.
Netizens are constantly exchanging insults and criticisms, which is just for fun. The two sides can easily manage their public relations. But what does Yang Siwei mean by saying that "Liu Yifei is not happy"?
Is it just a casual chatter from an entertainment industry person, self-promotion, or trying to connect himself with the wife of the richest man, or is he trying to convey some additional message?
……

At 2 PM on the seventh day of the Lunar New Year, the Penguin team arrived at the Four Seasons Hotel Lin'an West Lake, ready to continue their difficult negotiations with Ali.

Even when cornered by Wenjie, Ma Yun, with her SoftBank background, was not so easy to deal with. She kept playing along with Tencent, trying to gain a greater advantage in the cooperation.

This Jiangnan-style garden hotel, hidden along the Yanggong Causeway, is currently shrouded in a thin winter mist, with its pavilions and towers with upturned eaves appearing and disappearing in the misty air.

The two business leaders met in the hotel lobby and walked side by side toward the conference room, followed by the five renowned figures from Tencent and several of the eighteen founders of Ali, as well as their respective vice presidents and others.

Old Ma showed no sign of dejection. "Pony, the weather in Lin'an is damp and cold. You're from a subtropical region, so you probably won't be used to it, will you?"

"I think it's quite good. It's a bit cold, but it's clear-headed, which is more suitable for discussing business." Little Ma smiled elegantly, but deliberately made a business sense: "Besides, as long as we can run the company well and achieve our strategic goals, it doesn't matter where or how we do it."

"Haha! That makes sense!" Old Ma clapped his hands and laughed. Neither of them knew if the other was hiding any hidden meaning, but they both teased and probed each other with great interest.

Before the formal negotiations, Pony Ma continued to win people over and lay the groundwork: "Yesterday I heard from a friend at the Cyberspace Administration of China that the first batch of payment licenses will be issued early next year."

"We both know the current situation. With last year's Singles' Day and this year's mall launch, from my outsider's perspective, is it too much to say that Ali has entered its most dangerous period?"

"The combination of Tencent's traffic portal and Ali's e-commerce DNA is currently the only possible breakthrough in the competitive landscape. But cooperation requires determination, not hesitation. We must know when to step back."

He paused briefly, then said, "Like Chairman Liu."

No matter how disadvantaged we were in the negotiations, Ma Yun remained steadfast: "Penguin's traffic is like the Yangtze River, with its magnificent momentum. But Ali's value lies in our understanding of how to channel the water of the river to every field that needs irrigation."

"It's true that cooperation can benefit both sides, but how to cooperate, who will lead the irrigation, and how the water volume should be priced... these are the things that really deserve to be discussed with a 'clear mind'."

Seeing that he was unmoved, Little Ma smiled helplessly and stepped into the conference room, preparing to continue his efforts later. Unexpectedly, Liu Chiping quickly followed from behind: "Boss!"

Ma Huateng turned around, a sense of foreboding rising in his heart. The last time he saw the vice president's subordinate acting like this was when "Penguin Ranch" was launched, and then Zhang Xiaolong was poached.

The two sides had just entered the venue, almost like two armies facing off, and the atmosphere was solemn. Liu Chiping's low-voiced report drew everyone's attention, and some people speculated that it might be related to the recent public criticism of the marketing activities held by Tencent and Nanfang.

After listening to just a few words, Little Ma raised an eyebrow and shook his head, saying, "Just let Chen Juhong explain to that Yang Siwei again. What's the big deal?"

Perhaps wanting to appropriately demonstrate the penguin's confidence and stance in front of Ahri and the others, he waved without deliberately concealing his voice, remaining unassuming and low-key.

"Tell Vice President Chen that the cooperation between Tencent and Nanfang is a normal business transaction. As the online channel provider, we have fulfilled our obligations to negotiate and inform, so there is no need to worry about it."

The alien squinted and teased, "Do you need any help? In Lin'an, Ah Li still has influence."

"No need, it's nothing." The gentle and refined Ma didn't see Liu Chiping's sudden change in expression behind him, who was holding a phone, but he did see the look of surprise that flashed across Secretary Ma Yun's face—a look that was trying hard to hide but still revealed important information.

Unaware of the news, Ma Huateng smiled and retorted, "Mr. Ma, if anything happens, even in Lin'an, Tencent might be able to lend a hand."

He then saw an even more complex expression on Ma Yun's face, as if she was processing a problem that was both troublesome and undeniably an opportunity for her.

If Wenjie successfully takes this step, the original internet ecosystem will become even more terrifying, which is not good for any competitor.

But for Ali now, it might be a desperate measure to deal with Tencent, which even SoftBank, the company behind Ali, has been lobbying for a long time.

“Pony…”

Ma Yun raised her head, showing no intention of competing with or mocking Ma Huateng, but the information she conveyed was enough for the latter to temporarily end the negotiations.

According to an official announcement from Wenjie, they will soon launch their own instant messaging software, WeChat.

The entire audience fell silent; the result that Tencent had previously speculated with the utmost malice had finally come true.

For this internet giant that started with communication software—

A great terror is about to descend upon the world.

(End of this chapter)